Alessandro Volta Elementary School

Honestly, my experience with Volta has been a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, they have some solid wellness initiatives and partnerships that you can see mentioned in their reports, which is great. Albany Park schools are usually pretty crowded, and you can definitely feel that here—it's a lot of kids in one building, so when a bug starts going around, it's pretty much inevitable that it'll hit everyone. The communication about illnesses could be a lot faster too; sometimes I don't hear about a flu breakout until my kid is already home with a fever. It’s an okay school and they try with the health programs, but the sheer size of the student body makes the cleanliness and germ control feel like an uphill battle.

Honestly, Volta does a pretty solid job with health stuff. My 2nd grader's classroom is always looking clean, and I definitely see the staff wiping down desks and door handles when I drop him off. They’re really strict about the 24-hour fever-free rule, which can be a pain for working parents, but it definitely keeps the stomach bugs from spreading through the whole grade like wildfire. The nurse is super responsive too; whenever my son had a scraped knee or felt a little under the weather, I got a call or a note home right away. It’s a neighborhood school, so it can feel a bit crowded in the hallways during flu season, but overall they seem to prioritize keeping the kids healthy and active.